Classical Classroom

Learn about not one, but TWO amazing things in this episode:

1. The Houston Youth Symphony, an organization that's been making music an important part of young peoples' lives for 70 years, and
2. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," the symphonic poem written by the French composer Paul Dukas that Walt Disney brought to the masses in the movie Fantasia.

Michael Webster, artistic director and conductor of the Houston Youth Symphony, and HYS bassoonist Derek Marcum play examples and take us through the entire magical piece. If you're in Houston, you can catch Michael, Derek, and the rest of the Houston Youth Symphony playing Beethoven's 9th to mark their 70th anniversary on November 13th. Learn more here.

Music in this episode:

• "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," by Paul Dukas, performed by the Houston Youth Symphony
• Clarinet examples by Michael Webster
• Bassoon examples by Derek Marcum

Audio production for this episode by Mark "Guardian of the Mixing Board" DiClaudio and Todd "Groot" Hulslander with witty comebacks by Dacia Clay.

Composer Ned Rorem turned 93 on October 23rd. In honor of Rorem and his amazing career, composer Daron Hagen, Rorem's friend and former student, teaches a crash course in the music and life of Ned Rorem. Hear how his music has evolved over time, and about the life events that have precipitated creative growth and change. The amount of ground-breaking that Rorem has done in his life, both socially and creatively, is frankly more than one podcast can contain. But we give it our best shot anyway.

Music in this episode (all by Ned Rorem):

• "Early in the Morning"

• "Air Music"

• "String Symphony"

Audio production by Todd "Todd-ry" Hulslander with eyebrow-raising from Dacia Clay and help from Mark DiClaudio.

PS, If you enjoyed this episode with Daron Hagen, you can also hear him in an episode of Classical Classroom about Benjamin Britten and his opera Billy Budd!

Waaaay back in episode 102, composer and conductor Victoria Bond taught us about the first woman to run for the U.S. presidency, about whom Bond wrote the opera Mrs. President. On this, the first day of early voting for the U.S.'s 2016 election, Bond is back to teach about what turns out to be a tradition in classical music: music based on true political events. Learn about the pieces throughout history that are… about history, go vote, and then learn about the upcoming performance of Bond's opera here. View the live stream of the opera at Friday, October 28, 8:00 pm EDT.

Music in this episode:

• By Victoria Bond:
  • Mrs. President
  • "Soul of a Nation," from Four Presidents
• Ludwig van Beethoven's Third Symphony
• Dmitri Shostakovich's Seventh
• John Adams' Nixon in China
• Benjamin Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem and War Requiem
• Krzysztof Penderecki's Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima
• Georges Bizet's Carmen

Audio production by Todd "Electoral College" Hulslander with editing by Mark DiClaudio and yeas and nays from Dacia Clay.

Happy voting everyone!

Producer Todd has been wandering around somewhere in the woods for the past week. We think he's found his way out, but while he readjusts to civilization, please enjoy this episode from the Classical Classroom vault!

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"You gotta hear this one song. It'll change your life." – Pierre Jalbert to me*.

Have you ever heard a piece of music that truly moved you? Has a piece of music actually changed the course of your life? Ravel and George Crumb wrote pieces of music that played huge roles in the life of a young Pierre Jalbert. He talks about these two pieces of music, how he encountered them, how they work, and how they are woven into the fabric of his life and work.

Audio production in this episode by Todd "Toots" Hulslander with angry Footloose dancing from Dacia Clay.

Music in this episode:

• Maurice Ravel: String Quartet in F major, fourth movement, played by the Emerson String Quartet
• George Crumb: Black Angels, "God-music", played by the Miro Quartet
• Pierre Jalbert:
  • Visual Abstract, for chamber ensemble: II. Dome of Heaven (from the CD Chamber Music)
  • Icefield Sonnets for string quartet

*Actually, Pierre didn't say this to me. But, Natalie Portman says it to Zach Braff in the movie Garden State about a song by the Shins called "New Slang", which is, actually, a darn good song.

This is serious, people. Classical music has a long and meaningful history in cartoons that is no laughing matter. Just kidding! There is a really long history, but it is hilarious, and so is this episode. Richard Scerbo, Director of the National Orchestral Institute and Festival and founder and artistic director of the DC-based and Grammy-nominated Inscape Chamber Orchestra, takes us on a tour of that history. Find out the practical, social, and financial reasons behind Looney Tunes use of classical music, and how cartoons both poked fun at the music and made it fresh for new audiences. Hear examples of the classical music the cartoons draw from and examples of how the music was rearranged to suit the needs of Porky and Bugs. And, um, that's not all, folks.

Music in this episode:

• The Bartered Bride (Dance of the Comedians) by Bedrich Smetana
• "Zoom and Bored" (Warner Bros. cartoon featuring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner)
• Hungarian Rhapsody No2 by Franz List
• "Rhapsody in Rivets" (Warner Bros. cartoon)
• "A Corny Concerto" (Warner Bros. cartoon narrated by Elmer Fudd)
• The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II

• Tales from the Vienna Woods by Johann Strauss II
• "Ride of the Valkeries" from Die Walküre by Richard Wagner
• "Kill the Wabbit" from What's Opera, Doc? (Warner Bros. cartoon featuring Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny)

Audio production by Mark "The Martian" DiClaudio and Todd "Tweety" Hulslander with onomatopoeia by Dacia Clay.

In an epic Classical Classroom, tenors Isaiah Bell and Chris Mayell (who, among many other things, co-host the Overthought podcast) walk through the entirety of Benjamin Britten's opera, Albert Herring. It is an incredible journey, not for the faint of heart, nor for the anti-Canadian. Discussed: townies, queer theory vs. non-queer theory interpretations of the opera, Sid and Nancy (no – not them – the other Sid and Nancy), and Ron Swanson.

Music in this episode (all from Naxos and Decca recordings of Albert Herring):

• "Right! We'll have him!" (Bedford/Barstow)

• "Albert the Good!" (Britten/Fisher)

• "Sounds like Sid serenading" (Bedford/Barstow)

• "Heaven helps those who helps themselves" (Bedford/Barstow)

• "In the midst of life is death" (Britten/Fisher)

Audio production by Todd "Overtodd" Hulslander with meaningful encouragement from Dacia Clay and assistance from Mark DiClaudio.

Fun fact: "Gilmore Girls" scripts are almost twice as long as other TV shows of comparable length. In this regard, this is the "Gilmore Girls" of "Classical Classroom" episodes. Andy Meyerson and Travis Andrews of the Living Earth Show teach all about electro-acoustic chamber music, sure, but they do a lot more. In addition to talking about the composers and works they commission, and about experimental classical music in general, you are guaranteed to hear boiling water used musically, and at least one verbal treatise on Lars Ulrich of Metallica. Take notes, people. This is pure gold.

By the way, the Living Earth Show will be releasing a new album in late October called Dance Music. You'll preview music from that album in this episode. Check them out here: www.tles.bandcamp.com

Music in this episode: - "Helpless," from Garage Days Re-Revisited by Metallica. - "Enter Sandman," from Metallica by Metallica. - Performed by the Living Earth Show: -- Family Sing-A-Long and Game Night (composed by Nicole Lizée) -- The Bell, The Ball, The Bow-Tie, & The Boot (composed by Jonathan Pfeffer) -- Tassel (composed by Anna Meredith)

Audio production by Todd "Stevie Ray Todd" with keyboards by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio.

Mark Abel's life infuses his music, and music has been his life. He's been a classical musician, a punk rocker, a reporter, and a classical musician and composer again. In this episode, Abel talks about "art song," a very particular kind of classical music where song and poetry intersect. Learn about its history, its composers, and hear some of Abel's own work.

Music in this episode:

• "Roll Over Beethoven," The Beatles
• "Mr. Tambourine Man," The Byrds
• "A Love Supreme," John Coltrane
• "Marquee Moon," Tom Verlaine/Television
• "Crazy Rhythms," The Feelies
• "La vie anterieure'," Henri Duparc. Gerard Souzay, baritone; Dalton Baldwin, piano.
• By Mark Abel:
  • "Los Angeles," from The Palm Trees are Restless
  • Excerpts from "Premonition," from The Dark Eyed Chameleon
  • "La sonnambula," from Terrain of the Heart

Audio production by Todd "Hell" Hulslander with editing by Mark DiClaudio and abiding by Dacia Clay.

Composer Stephen Lias didn't necessarily mean to become an "adventurer-composer." He was minding his own business as a perfectly normal composer, having his music played by soloists and ensembles, and working as a Professor of Composition at Stephen F. Austin State University. In his free time, he liked to go on adventure trips, backpacking and kayaking. Little did he know that one day soon, his two loves would merge and that he would become Stephen Lias, Adventurer-Composer! His whole life would be changed, and he would become Composer-in-Residence at many of the United States' National Parks.

Find out what that means, and more about Stephen's story in this adventure-filled episode of Classical Classroom! And by the way, did you know that it's the United States National Park Service's 100th birthday? Go hug a National Park today!

Music in this episode (all by Stephen Lias):

• River Runner Lajitas
• Crown of the Continent
• Gates of the Arctic (with Boulder Philharmonic)
• Range of Light – Vernal Falls

Audio production by Todd "Grand Tetodd" Hulslander, with spelunking by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio.

PS, Stephen Lias is also an awesome photographer. Check out his photographic work – much of it of his National Parks adventures – right here.

That's not a violin – it's a woodbox! Daniel Bernard Roumain talks about creative appropriation in classical music. The Haitian-American composer's creative world was cracked open when he realized that everything – including the definition of "violin" – was ripe for reinterpretation. As a kid in garage bands, he took the decidedly uncool violin and made it his own. As a classically trained musician, he brings classical music together with hip hop, rock, bluegrass, and other genres to create his signature sound. We talk about DBR's creative journey and about how innovators like John Cage have changed classical music by adding an important ingredient to the genre: imagination.

Audio production by Todd "T-Dawg" Hulslander with super disco breaking by Dacia Clay.

Music in this episode:

• Lots of woodbox improvisation by Daniel Bernard Roumain
• "Sonata No. 2" from Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano by John Cage, played by Boris Berman
• "Sonata for Violin and Turntables, Part 1" from Woodbox Beats & Balladryby Daniel Bernard Roumain

To see DBR perform in our studios on Skyline Sessions, go here.

Daniel Roumain is an artist in residence with the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, which is dedicated to interdisciplinary collaboration across the performing, visual, and literary arts. Based at the University of Houston, the Mitchell Center commissions and produces new works, presents public performances and exhibitions, offers curriculum and scholarships, and hosts residencies with renowned visiting artists from throughout the world. The Center is home to the Mitchell Artist Lecture, an annual event featuring a pioneer in contemporary art-making, as well as CounterCurrent, an annual spring festival of new performance. The Mitchell Center forms an alliance among five departments at UH: the School of Art, Moores School of Music, School of Theatre & Dance, Creative Writing Program, and Blaffer Art Museum. For more information visit www.mitchellcenterforarts.org.